This invention relates to sterilizing articles utilizing sterilization wrap. More particularly, it relates to sterilization wrap having two plies of sterilization material.
Reusable medical instruments must be sterilized prior to each use. Normally, these instruments are sterilized by steam or ethylene-oxide. In order for the instruments to remain sterile after the sterilization procedure, the instruments must be wrapped in a material called xe2x80x9csterilization wrapxe2x80x9d.
The most common type of sterilization wrap is a three-ply laminate consisting of a layer of melt blown polypropylene sandwiched between two layers of spun bond polypropylene. The wrap includes bond points all across the face of the material so that the material is held together, i.e., laminated. This three-ply material is commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cSMSxe2x80x9d, which is short for spun bondxe2x80x94melt blownxe2x80x94spun bond. Most hospitals specify SMS as the sterilization wrap to be used because SMS is sufficiently porous to permit steam and ethylene-oxide to penetrate through the material to the surgical instruments, but has filtration properties sufficient to prevent the passage of most pathogens therethrough.
In most hospitals, there is a protocol which requires surgical instruments to be wrapped with two separate sheets of SMS so that in the event one sheet becomes torn, there is a redundancy which will maintain the sterility of the surgical instruments. The wrapping of surgical instruments with two separate sheets of sterilization wrap obviously is labor intensive in that the nurse must first place the instruments on one sheet of sterilization material and wrap the instruments, and then place the wrapped package on another sheet of sterilization material and wrap the instruments again.
In an attempt to reduce the labor required to provide dual wrapping of surgical instruments, Kimberly-Clark Corporation has developed a product called xe2x80x9cOne Step Sterilization Wrapxe2x80x9d. One Step Sterilization Wrap is made by bonding two separate sheets of sterilization wrap together. The Kimberly-Clark One Step product is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,134 and 5,688,476. However, because the One Step wrap requires separate sheets to be bonded together, manufacturing costs are substantially increased. In addition, it requires precise alignment of the two separate movable sheets during the bonding process.
Thus there is a need for a sterilization wrap which provides two layers of protection, yet is inexpensive to manufacture and is easy to use.
It is therefore one object of this invention to provide an improved two-ply sterilization wrap.
It is another object of this invention to provide a two-ply sterilization wrap which is inexpensive to manufacture and is easy to use.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an improved method for sterilizing an article utilizing an improved two-ply sterilization wrap.
In accordance with one form of this invention, there is provided a sterilization wrap made from a single sheet of sterilization material. The sheet has first, second, third and fourth edges. The sheet is folded in half forming first and second overlapping panels and two layers of sterilization material. The fold runs from the third edge to the fourth edge. Because of the fold, the first edge is adjacent to the second edge and thus two layers of sterilization material are provided for an article to be sterilized by using a single sheet of sterilization material. The two panels may be affixed together along the first and second edges.
In addition, the third edge includes first and second portions and the fourth edge also includes first and second portions. The first panel may be also affixed to the second panel by bonding the first portion of the third edge to the second portion of the third edge, and by bonding the first portion of the fourth edge to the second portion of the third edge. In addition, the two panels may be affixed together by bonding adjacent to the fold.
In accordance with another form of this invention, there is provided a two-ply sterilization wrap made from a single sheet of sterilization material. The sheet is folded in half forming first and second overlapping equally sized panels. Each panel has edges. The first panel is bonded to the second panel so that the edges of the first panel remain adjacent to the edges of the second panel.
In accordance with another form of this invention, there is provided a two-ply sterilization wrap made from a single sheet of sterilization material. The sheet includes two folds. The sheet includes first, second, third and fourth edges. The first edge is adjacent to the second edge, and the third and fourth edges are opposite from one another. The folded sheet forms two adjacent equally sized panels. The first and second edges form an overlapping region. The first and second edges are bonded together along the overlapping region. The third edge includes first and second adjacent portions, and the fourth edge includes first and second adjacent portions. The first portion of the third edge may be bonded to the second portion of the third edge, and the first portion of the fourth edge may be bonded to the second portion of the fourth edge.
In accordance with another form of this invention, there is provided a method for sterilizing an article, including the steps of providing an article, wrapping the articles with sterilization wrap which is formed in accordance with one or more of the above described designs, and applying sterilization conditions to the wrapped article.